Dear St. Lukers,

For this year’s High School Summer Advocacy/Mission Experience, a group of our high school youth immersed themselves in problems our world has faced for generations and still faces today, through activities, advocacy training, service assignments, and a walk through major civil rights landmarks in Birmingham, Selma, Montgomery, and Atlanta.

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, we explored the historical Kelly Ingram Park and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. On Wednesday after watching the movie “Selma," we walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, and spent time at the Equal Justice Initiative and Legacy Museum in Montgomery.

As we explored these historical sites, our teens connected past lessons with present challenges. They witnessed the struggles of the civil rights movement and further deepened their understanding of the fight for justice and equality that we still face today.

These powerful encounters served as a catalyst for thought-provoking discussions about the role of advocacy in our lives as our youth confronted the harsh realities of racial injustice and systemic oppression. These experiences sparked...